Dave Beck
Dave Beck was a significant figure in the American labor movement, known for his leadership of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters over several decades. Born in Stockton, California, and raised in Seattle, Beck faced financial hardships in his early life but found his way into the union movement after serving in World War I. He began his career as an organizer for the Teamsters and swiftly rose to prominence by emphasizing regional organization, eventually becoming the union's general president in 1952, during which time he expanded its membership dramatically.
However, Beck's tenure was marked by controversy, particularly regarding allegations of corruption and unethical practices. Investigations led by figures like Robert F. Kennedy revealed significant misappropriation of funds, leading to legal battles and his eventual conviction for tax evasion and embezzlement. After serving time in prison, Beck returned to a quieter life and was pardoned in 1975. His legacy is complex; while he played a crucial role in union growth, his conservative tactics and associations with organized crime have cast a long shadow over the Teamsters, influencing the union's reputation for corruption long after his departure. Beck passed away in 1993, leaving behind a contentious yet impactful legacy in labor history.
Subject Terms
Dave Beck
American union organizer
- Born: June 16, 1894
- Birthplace: Stockton, California
- Died: December 26, 1993
- Place of death: Seattle, Washington
Major offenses: Federal income tax evasion and embezzlement
Active: 1950-1956
Locale: Seattle
Sentence: Served two years in prison; pardoned after his parole
Early Life
Born in Stockton, California, to a carpet cleaner and a laundress, Dave Beck (behk) relocated with his parents to Seattle when he was four. His family, who was poor, settled in Seattle’s old Belltown area, and Beck delivered newspapers, sold Christmas trees, and caught rats, shellfish, and fish to support them. Although he dropped out of school because of his family’s financial situation, he later attended night extension classes in law, economics, and business administration at the University of Washington. Beck enlisted in the Navy in 1917 and saw action as a gunner in patrols of the North Sea on anti-zeppelin missions. He married Dorothy E. Leschander while on shore leave.
Business Union Career
After returning from World War I and taking a job as a laundry truck driver, Beck became secretary-treasurer of the Laundry Drivers Union in 1924. In 1927, he became a full-time organizer for the West Coast Teamsters Union, which he would ultimately lead for more than forty years. Early in his career, he determined that regional organization was key to the success of the unions and organized the Western Conference of Teamsters, despite the objections of the Teamster general Dan Tobin. Within the decade, as a result of his successes, Beck led the union. His support of the Newspaper Guild Strike in 1936 was a major cause of the strike’s success. By the 1940’s, Beck was a popular Seattle figure and a member of the State Parole Board, the Seattle Civil Service Commission, and the University of Washington Board of Regents.
Within the labor movement, as a representative of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Beck faced leftist Harry Bridges, who represented the longshoremen and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). Beck professed a business-union policy, opposing radicals and union democracy, and was therefore favored by conservative community elements such as regional chambers of commerce. The difference in philosophy led to a split between the CIO and AFL, the most intense struggle the two labor organizations had undergone. Beck did not believe the rank and file workers were capable of making informed decisions and once noted, “I’m paid $25,000 a year to run this outfit . . . why should truck drivers and bottle washers be allowed to make decisions affecting policy? No corporation would allow it.”
Beck’s successes in organizing unions in Seattle were often the result of strong-arm tactics and blackmail, including a Teamsters-level refusal to deliver supplies to any business that fought him. Some claimed the Teamster slogan had become “Vote no and go to the hospital.” Nonetheless, his success was so marked that presidentsFranklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all offered him the position of secretary of labor, which he repeatedly turned down in order to remain part of the labor movement. In 1940, he was elected as an international vice president of the Teamsters and joined the Teamsters International Executive Board. In 1952, he became the general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and continued to lead the organization in its rapid expansion, taking the membership from 78,000 to more than 1,580,000 members.
Legal Action and Outcome
In 1956, Robert F. Kennedy, working for the U.S. Senate Labor Committee (also known as the McClellan Committee for its chair, Senator John McClellan), began investigating graft within the Teamsters Union. He was surprised to find evidence of Beck’s corruption, including interest-free loans for over $320,000 extended to Beck as well as a home that had been purchased for him by the Teamsters union, which bought it from him and then allowed him to live in it rent-free. Brought before the McClellan Committee hearing on March 26, 1957, to answer questions about misappropriation of funds, Beck invoked the Fifth Amendment and did not answer sixty-five of the questions put to him.
In May, 1957, Beck was heard before the AFL/CIO Ethical Practices Committee, led by AFL/CIO President George Meany. Because the committee could not guarantee that Beck would not be subpoenaed by the Senate Labor Committee if he answered questions, Beck refused to answer those questions. His membership on the AFL/CIO Executive Council was withdrawn, and the Teamsters were expelled from the organization.
Beck faced indictments charging him with helping file a fraudulent 1950 tax return for the Joint Council 28 Building Association and pocketing proceeds from the sale of a 1952 Cadillac belonging to the Teamsters, as well as $240,000 in back income taxes. He was convicted in 1959 of income tax evasion and state embezzlement charges. In 1962 he went to prison, serving at McNeil Island in Washington. In 1964, after he was paroled, he returned to lead a quiet existence out of the public eye. Beck was pardoned by U.S. president Gerald Ford in 1975 and lived the rest of his life in Seattle. He died in 1993.
Impact
The Teamsters retained a reputation for corruption long after Dave Beck’s departure. His conservative approach influenced the organization for years, perhaps because of his successor, Jimmy Hoffa. The Teamsters developed strong ties to organized crime under Beck’s leadership, leading the U.S. government to sue the union in 1988 in order to impose federal supervision of the union’s daily operations and its internal election process.
Bibliography
Hass, Eric. Dave Beck, Labor Merchant: The Case History of a Labor Leader. New York: New York Labor News, 1957. A brief overview of Beck’s life, which focuses on his activity as a Teamsters leader.
Jacobs, James B. Mobsters, Unions, and Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement. New York: New York University Press, 2006. This narrative of the ties between organized crime and unions includes a lengthy examination of the corruption in the Teamsters and Beck and Hoffa’s connections.
McCallum, John. Dave Beck. Mercer Island, Wash.: Writing Works, 1978. Provides an in-depth look at Beck’s life, including his criminal conviction, although it focuses mainly on his influence on and history with the Teamsters.